


Beware the Wild Rushes

by peraspera



Category: Campaign (Podcast)
Genre: AU Where Dref Never Dies Because I Love Him, Drowning, Ficlet, Song fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:47:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25779166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peraspera/pseuds/peraspera
Summary: just a Dref-centric ramble inspired by Rusalka Rusalka / Wild Rushes by the Decemberists
Relationships: Dref Wormwood & Travis Matagot & Gable
Comments: 3
Kudos: 11





	Beware the Wild Rushes

_And you are my wild-eyed rusalka, my river bride_

_Drag me down, take me away_

_And here we will lie, you and I, 'neath the cold, dark sky_

Dref is studying outside when he hears it. Soft as honeydew, he hears a faint call on the wind. Her voice is high, dripping with gentle sweetness and her melody slides wetly over itself, tumbling over him. He finds himself standing, his notes and books falling unceremoniously onto the dirt. It’s curious, this voice. It sounds as if she’s singing just to him. He walks closer, the soft sound growing in intensity. It seems to rumble through his boots, vibrating through every inch of his skin.

In the blink of an eye, the wild rushes stretch out before him. Were they always this close to water? He can’t recall the subject ever coming up when they decided to touch down in this small lakeside town. The water beyond the grass is dark and sluggishly whirling and his breathing synchs with its’ gentle rhythm.

When he sees her head breach the water, a stillness falls over him. He’s never felt this calm but her voice, the water, the scent of the damp air is a balm to his nerves. His skin had felt like it was crawling a moment ago, but the feeling dissipates at her visage. He steps to the water’s edge. This close to the water, he dimly recognizes that her song is not just beautiful noises, she’s singing of how much she longs for him. She calls to him, offering love and comfort. Dref sighs. She describes the water and the air starts to feel denser, as if he can imagine himself beside her already. He takes another step, submerging his boot in the rushes. He manages a few more steps, caught in her gaze. The harder he tries to discern the exact hue of her wild eyes, the more they seem to shift and draw him in.

She asks him sweetly to take another step in. “That’s it, another step and we can be together.” Yes. Dref wants that, surely he must. He nods and catches a glimpse of his feet. He is a step away from an underwater precipice that disappears into the deep waters below.

“I don’t know how to swim.” Dref whispers, his voice sounding so far away to his ears and hers sounding so clear.

“Don’t worry. You won’t need to. Just another step and we can be together until the end of your days.”

He lifts his boot.

“That’s it. Come feel my cool breath, my love,” she croons.

Caught entirely in her thrall, Dref begins to settle his weight, forwards, towards her, down, down. Water rushes into his shoe and he longs for their fate entwining forever beneath the lapping waves when arms like steel bars grab him around his middle. He’s still transfixed on her face. Dref sees his beautiful maiden’s face twist into the picture of rage and he feels that same desperation in a way he’s never felt before. He jerks, hopelessly weaker than the vice-grip holding him out of the water. Anger wells in his core, directed at whatever could have cause the ugly emotion to cross her face.

Dref doesn’t seem hear the owner of these strong arms shouting for Travis to _do something._ Likewise, neither of his more… experienced acquaintances could hear her song that so transfixed him. The Rusalka song only claimed the pure.

He wrestles desperately with his captor and continues to wriggle until a deafening shot rings out. The song reverberating through his bones stops as suddenly as it had consumed him, and he feels icy cold. The woman, the others come to his rescue know her for what she is, a Rusalka, turned tail and swam away, away from the man wielding his pistol like it was no more dangerous a burden than an empty wine-glass.

As she slipped the range of her enchanting magics, the veil over Dref’s eyes lifted and he gasps. He feels suddenly like a drowned man breaching the water after minutes below the surface. He nearly WAS a drowned man. He had to get air. He now pulled meekly at Gable’s arms, still holding him mightily. “Gable. G-Gable, I’m ba– I’m here, you ha-have to let… let me b-breath.”

Gable exchanges a look with Travis as if to confirm that that unsettling empty gaze in Dref’s eyes had cleared. Travis nods, recognizing the nervous way Dref’s eyes are darting wildly, that uncharacteristic stillness gone from his small frame. They release him unceremoniously and he drops like a limp puppet.

He fell to his knees and gagged. The water staining his socks felt like it was gurgling in his lungs, like he could feel there the drowning that he had nearly suffered.

Dref closes his eyes and feels the memory of the Rusalka’s phantom control over his mind and body, and as he throws up into the rushes, Travis and Gable each hold him steady away from the water’s edge with a hand on each of his shoulders.

**Author's Note:**

> ive been sitting on this ficlet for months now and it hit me that the anniversary of dref's death was last week. in other news, im not okay. i have plans for continuing this but who fucken knows if that will ever happen. 
> 
> if i ever write something and it inspires you, PLEASE take it and please let me know so i can talk about it with you! feel free to chat w me over on tumblr @ drefvalentine


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